Re: Club activities

[STEADIRIC@aol.com]

>1.)	Are we comparing prices to events with instruction, or without.
>
>While some instructors may be volunteers, that does not reduce the value 
>added. 
>It is possible to get training by going to say Skip Barber or Bob Bondurant,

>or someplace with prepared cars, but you having to fork over $2-5K to do it.
>If there are cheaper alternatives that do offer quality instruction, the
>locals can attend them.  There is supposed to be at least one track event 
>per year. I would like to make it a sure it is good one. 
>
>2.)	If the Quattro club events aren't worth every penny paid,
>then there is plenty of blame to go around, and those on the payrole,
>those who volunteer, and especially those who DON'T have to shoulder
>some of it.

Paul I'm going to make an Observation that I am More qualified to make 
than anyone else on this list on in the Q club....  For Three years I 
made my living teaching for Skip Barber and running the Instructor 
training program. I also taught for two years with another school by the 
name of Fast Company where I also ran the instructor training program. I 
have also taught for several other schools and clubs along with racing 
professinally.  

Quattro club instruction is to put it bluntly ...lacking.  I have offered 
to help them in this and run the Instructor certification program and to 
teach at the events, This sadly has fallen on deaf ears.  What really 
Irks me is when I see Q-Club "Instructors" teaching the student fun and 
interesting ways to wad there cars into a ball and hurt themselves.  
Example:  Downshifting and braking in the middle of a chicane......  The 
instructor in essence is telling to student to tell the car to spin...... 
 Having "Instructors" that have only had to run in 1 or 2 events and go 
to a "Instructor Clinic"... Yup no other qualifactions.  Do you REALLY 
Want that guy or gal next to you when your getting in a little over your 
head, How can you be sure that that "Instructor" has been there and can 
give you the reasurring answer that you need to get out of that 
"Situation"... With the present approch you can't....

The Present Instruction is a FAR cry from anything like a Skippy 
School.....  I suggested that I could run the program like a Skippy 
Advanced highway course with a track day.  This is what the Q club should 
be teaching... Not letting a lot of people go wilding at a race track.  
Here's food for thought at the August Blackhawk Farms Instructor Clinic 
the students went wild... There were multiple off road excursions, 
Drivers crawling up on the bumpers of other drivers, People Ignoring 
their mirrors,  People that can barley drive around the track 
Dive-Bombing each other into turn 1.  Do you really want these people 
teaching you?  At one point while trying to explain WHY something is 
being taught (Certain List members can chime in here....) I was told 
"That's nice but we really don't need to worry about that.... It takes 
too much time" I just watched for a day and tried to identify those that 
had a glimmer of hope to teach. The afternoon of the first day I and 
another Listmember (Who can Ident himself if he chooses) had a long talk 
with the Q-club folks and then implemented my approch to calm things 
down....  We Reconed the course that afternoon and the next morning had a 
long talk with the students and then let them onto the track to do a Lead 
follow approch for the first session for each driver, Where I went out 
and had that group follow me single file swapping the lead behind me so 
that everyone could follow directly behind me and have the line ingrained 
into there heads, I also ramped up the speed ever lap until by the end of 
the session if I felt that the students could handle it we were at 
8/10th's.  Guess what by the end of the day these guys were going fast 
and Most of all SAFELY around the track.... Were they now qualified to 
teach.... No.  But they had a better foundation to work on there teach 
skills.

If anyone would like to check out a well run and taught school (I'lll be 
teaching there) the St. Louis chapter of the BMW CCA will be having a 
school the Weekend of May 18th and 19th. This is what "OUR" Events needs 
to be patterend after.  Check out "Gateway with the M-Boys" By PDQSHIP In 
the November Archives.

Later!


Eric Fletcher
'87 5KCSTQIA2RSR2B
St. Louis, MO

STEADIRIC@aol.com